CLEVELAND — Sixers coach Brett Brown has a simple formula his team needs to follow in order to stay in games: His three veterans need to have a big night and the bench needs to perform admirably in relief.

The Sixers got the latter Tuesday night in Cleveland, but the three veterans looked like players who were playing their fifth game in seven days. It added up to a 111-93 loss to the Cavaliers (see Instant Replay), the second loss in as many days for the Sixers (12-23).

“We need our big three firing,” Brown said. “We need a bench that’s playing B, B-plus games in order to be in anything competitive. That’s the reality of our roster.”

The big three -- Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes and Thaddeus Young -- combined for just 13 points. All three played limited minutes, and Young was held scoreless for the first time since 2011. He finished 0 for 7 from the floor in 21 minutes.

The Cavs, meanwhile, looked like a team that just got a new shot of life playing hours after acquiring Luol Deng from the Bulls in a trade that sent Andrew Bynum to Chicago. Deng wasn’t with the team Tuesday, but if he watched any portion of the game, he had to have liked what he saw from his new teammates.

Anderson Varejao (18 points, 14 rebounds) and Tristan Thompson (12 points, 10 rebounds) each had double-doubles. Kyrie Irving had 16 points and eight assists playing for the first time in three games.

C.J. Miles scored a game-high 34 points, making a career-high and franchise record 10 three-pointers. The Cavs as a team shot 13 for 28 from deep, as the Sixers fell victim to the poor perimeter defense that plagued them prior to their West Coast trip.

“You give him credit,” Brown said of Miles. “You most definitely give him credit. As a young team, when somebody is rolling like that, you have to be aware of where he is every second. There’s a tiny bit of that that’s on us. You have to show a level of desperation.”

It was evident the Sixers didn’t have the energy to be desperate Tuesday. Reluctant to pin Monday’s loss to Minnesota on fatigue, Brown admitted Tuesday that perhaps his team just didn’t have anything left.

“I have no idea about the team I just saw the last two nights,” Brown said. “The fatigue must have played a far greater factor than I anticipated. The team that came back from the West Coast in relation to what I have seen the last two nights from an energy standpoint is night and day.”

Aside from rookie Michael Carter-Williams, who finished with a career-high 33 points to go along six rebounds, five assists and just one turnover, the Sixers' starters lacked the stamina to stay with the Cavs.

A 14-3 Cleveland run midway through the first quarter was enough to put the Sixers away. The Cavs led by 23 at the half and the lead grew to as much as 31 in the fourth quarter.

“It’s just one of those games where you couldn’t get anything going,” Young said. “Just want to get this one pretty much behind me and move on to the next one. I think as a team we just didn’t play well.”

If the Sixers can find another bright spot outside of Carter-Williams, it might be the play of their bench. The Sixers' bench outscored the Cavs, 43-29. James Anderson (15 points), Brandon Davies (11 points) and Lorenzo Brown (12 points) provided double digits off the bench.

Other than that, it was the kind of lethargic effort that they’d just as soon forget.

“The road trip kind of caught up to us a little bit,” Young said. “It’s been tough on us the last couple weeks.”

Luckily for the Sixers, they get an off day Wednesday before preparing to host Detroit Friday.